SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 13, 2015 – On Wednesday, March 25, 2015 lifelong Sunnyvale resident Walter Huber was sitting down to dinner when he received an alert through PulsePoint, a 9-1-1 connected mobile app designed to alert CPR-trained citizens of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) emergencies in their vicinity. This app alert helped save a man’s life.

The PulsePoint app displayed a map showing Huber, 21, the location of the emergency, which was based on 9-1-1 call information. Using this map Huber made his way to the reported SCA patient’s location—a soccer field just steps from his home—where he found a man unconscious and surrounded by his teammates. Just minutes earlier the man had collapsed, unresponsive and without a pulse, prompting his teammates to call 9-1-1. Huber, who is CPR trained, immediately assessed the patient and began hands-only CPR. He provided chest compressions until a Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Officer arrived in a patrol car equipped with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). The AED delivered a life-saving shock, effectively bringing Farid Rashti, 63, back to life.

“When someone suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, the heart stops beating without any warning so time is critical,” said Dr. Chad Rammohan, M.D., medical director of Cardiac Catheterization Lab and Chest Pain Center at El Camino Hospital and a Palo Alto Medical Foundation physician. “It’s the ‘electrical shock’ from the AED that helps to restore the person’s heartbeat and it’s the mechanical pumping from CPR that helps the SCA victim to recover some blood flow to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and the rest of the body.”

A family history of heart disease coupled with a 2004 heart attack, resulting in quadruple bypass surgery, has led Rashti, a Campbell, Calif. resident, to live a healthy lifestyle. However, while playing soccer on March 25th, he was hit by the ball on the left side of his chest. He felt a sharp pain, unlike during his earlier heart attack. He switched to goalie where he could catch his breath when, he recalls “suddenly everything started to go black and that is the last thing I remember.” Rashti had suffered a SCA. The only way for a person to survive a SCA is to immediately receive 1) CPR, 2) an electrical shock from an AED, and 3) transport to the closest hospital emergency room.

“Thankfully the PulsePoint app alerted me to someone in need, only steps away, so I could put my training to good use and, as it turns out, help save a life,” said Huber, a Mission College student. “The fact that you could potentially save a life with this app confirms how important it is for everyone to learn CPR and download PulsePoint.”

“I’m so grateful that I was in public, surrounded by people,” said Rashti from his home where he’s been recovering. “Without my friends calling 9-1-1, the PulsePoint responder starting CPR and the patrol officer shocking me back to life with an AED, I would not be alive today.”

Santa Clara County, in which the City of Sunnyvale is located, was one of the first counties in the nation to fully integrate this technology with its 9-1-1 system. The collaboration and allocated resources from the Santa Clara County fire departments, the PulsePoint Foundation, El Camino Hospital, and the tech company Workday brought this lifesaving technology to Santa Clara County citizens. The coordinated effort by Santa Clara County, Rashti’s teammates, the PulsePoint-notified citizen responder and the care provided by the emergency room at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center helped save Rashti’s life.

“Every element in this chain of survival was enhanced by quick action and cutting edge technology. All Sunnyvale public safety officers are trained as police officers, firefighters and EMTs so they arrive on scene and immediately bring life-saving support with an AED and first aid equipment,” said Steve Drewniany, Deputy Chief of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety. “It was the quick action by Farid’s friends and Walter that set the entire response in motion. You couldn’t ask for a better example of how technology like PulsePoint and AEDs can save lives, which is why we’re making full use of them here in Sunnyvale.”

The PulsePoint mobile app is designed to reduce collapse-to-CPR and collapse-to-defibrillation times by increasing citizen awareness of cardiac events beyond a traditional “witnessed” area. The app also directs users to the precise location of nearby public AEDs. The free app is available for download on iTunes and Google Play.

About the PulsePoint Foundation
PulsePoint is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through the use of location-aware mobile devices PulsePoint is building applications that work with local public safety agencies to improve communications with citizens, empowering them to help reduce the millions of annual deaths from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Deployment of the PulsePoint app can significantly strengthen the “chain of survival” by improving bystander response to cardiac arrest victims and increasing the chance that lifesaving steps will be taken prior to the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS). PulsePoint is supported by the Wireless Foundation, built and maintained by volunteer engineers at Workday and distributed by our marketing and implementation partner Physio-Control, Inc. Learn more at www.pulsepoint.org or join the conversation at Facebook and Twitter.

About Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety
Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the City of Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety is one of the largest fully-integrated Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) public entities in the United States serving a City of over 147,000 residents. All of the Department’s Officers are fully qualified cross-trained Police Officers, Firefighters, and EMT-Basic professionals. Public Safety Officers fulfill these roles in their daily duties, ensuring the highest levels of efficiency and competency for the Sunnyvale community.

About El Camino Hospital
El Camino Hospital is an acute-care, 443-bed, nonprofit and locally governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, California. In addition to heart and vascular care, key medical specialties include behavioral health, cancer, men’s health, neuroscience, orthopedic and spine, senior health, urology, and the first Women’s Hospital in Northern California. The hospital is recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology and wireless communications, and has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center as well as back-to-back ANCC Magnet Recognitions for Nursing Care. To learn more, visit our website, find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or view videos on YouTube. For a physician referral, visit our website or call the El Camino Health Line at 800-216-5556.

About Cardiac Arrest
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for an estimated 424,000 deaths each year, more than 1,000 deaths per day. The American Heart Association estimates that effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. However, less than half of cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR and even fewer receive a potentially lifesaving therapeutic shock from a public access AED. Improving bystander CPR rates and access to AEDs is critical to chain of survival, which requires: (1) early recognition of the emergency and phoning 911 for EMS, (2) early bystander CPR, (3) early delivery of a shock via a defibrillator if indicated and (4) early advanced life support and post-resuscitation care delivered by healthcare providers.

Different than a heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest is caused when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions and the heart stops working properly. For every minute that passes without a SCA victim receiving resuscitation, the chances of that person surviving decrease 10 percent. After 10 minutes the chances of survival are minimal.

Rammohan is a director of the chest pain center at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. Two years ago, the hospital helped launch a smartphone system designed to create an army of citizen CPR providers.

“And the best outcome is when there’s early defibrillation, meaning a defibrillator is available,” Rammohan said.

The system, known as PulsePoint was the brain child of former San Ramon Valley Fire Chief Richard Price.

When a cardiac call comes in to 911, the PulsePoint app can locate the closest trained responder via their smartphone and even help them perform CPR with an automated external defibrillator, known as an AED.

“I’ll receive a tone on my phone and a map showing me exactly how to get where I am, to where the patient’s located,” says Price. “I’ve now arrived at the patient, so I’ve selected the CPR how to portion of the app.” he added.

Since being rolled out in Santa Clara County and the East Bay, the PulsePoint Foundation has expanded the system.

Beginning this year, the program now allows users to locate and mark the location of AEDs in schools and public buildings.

The goal is a powerful, searchable database that could locate the nearest defibrillator in an emergency. For photographer Brent Pederson the opportunity struck on a local tennis court, when he provided CPR to a player who’d collapsed with chest pain.

“So I just started pumping his chest and giving him mouth to mouth and we just kept it up for about 10 or 12 minutes until the medics arrived,” Pederson said.

Organizers are hoping the new features will help make the system even more powerful. Ultimately, stretching a life-saving safety net across the Bay Area.

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A free CPR “citizen responder” mobile phone application will help save lives through a new partnership between the San José Fire Department and El Camino Hospital.

The PulsePoint app enables members of the public to provide life-saving assistance to victims of sudden cardiac arrest, which causes nearly 1,000 deaths a day in the United States. San José is the nation’s largest city to utilize PulsePoint’s location-aware technology. The app is available for both the iPhone and Android smart phones.

“The first few minutes after a sudden cardiac arrest are critical for saving lives, and this app will help citizens provide immediate assistance,” said San José Mayor Chuck Reed. “Technology can help us build a safer, stronger and healthier community, and our partnership with El Camino Hospital to bring PulsePoint to San José is a wonderful example of this commitment at no cost to us.”

App users, who have indicated they are trained in CPR, can be notified if someone nearby is having a cardiac emergency and may require CPR. The app uses sophisticated location-based services to alert citizens in a public place of the need for CPR. The application also directs citizen rescuers to the exact location of the nearest publicly available automated external defibrillator (AED).

The PulsePoint app will be made available to additional communities in Santa Clara County over the next year.

“We’re making it very easy to empower citizens of San Jose who can help with CPR when every second counts,” said San José Fire Chief William McDonald. “Timing is crucial for saving a life during cardiac arrest, and a notification to someone close by who can perform CPR can make all the difference.”

The City of San José has installed 190 AEDs in libraries, community centers and other public locations. The City has also installed 40 AEDs at the San Jose International Airport so victims of cardiac arrest can have a greater chance of survival.

“Bringing this leading-edge lifesaving tool to the residents of San José is part of our ongoing commitment to improve the health and well being of our community,” said Tomi Ryba, president and CEO of El Camino Hospital. “We encourage everyone to become trained in CPR in order to extend the benefits of this mobile application and save lives.”

“Once a sudden cardiac arrest begins, chances of that person surviving decrease 10 percent for every minute that passes without resuscitation; after 10 minutes there is little chance for successful resuscitation,” said Chad Rammohan, MD, FACC, medical director of the Chest Pain Center at El Camino Hospital. “Citizen responders can help stop the clock by starting CPR immediately and help increase the individual’s chances for survival until paramedics arrive. Recent advances in hospital management including cooling or therapeutic hypothermia have made a significant difference in meaningful recovery.”

While difficult to quantify how many lives have been saved from bystander intervention since CPR was developed by the American Heart Association in 1960, the stories of people like sudden cardiac arrest survivor Theresa Doede underscore the important role that everyday individuals trained in CPR can play.

“I survived an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest while attending a Christmas party on December 11, 2010,” said Ms. Doede. “I have no brain injury due to a willing bystander beginning CPR within moments of my collapse.”

The PulsePoint app is available for download free at both the Apple iPhone App Store and in the Android Market.

The PulsePoint app also provides a virtual window into select 911 emergency communication centers giving users of mobile devices real-time access to emergency activity as it is occurring. Users are able to view active incidents, including the current response status of dispatched units, and instantly pinpoint incident location on an interactive map. Users also can choose to be notified of incidents by type when they are dispatched and monitor emergency radio traffic via this modern version of the traditional fire scanner.

The PulsePoint app has received several international awards, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs 2011 Fire Service Award for Excellence, a CTIA-The Wireless Association 2011 VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, a 2011 Computerworld Honors Program Laureate Award for Innovation, an American Heart Association Life Saver Heart Partner Award, and an IADAS Webby Official Honoree award for the Best Use of GPS or Location Technology. Additional information about the PulsePoint app can be found at www.pulsepoint.org.

About Sudden Cardiac Death
Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating, resulting in no blood flow to the brain and other vital organs. Approximately 300,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the United States, with a median reported survival-to-hospital-discharge rate of 8 percent.

Rapidly implementing the “chain of survival” model can help increase the chances of survival from sudden cardiac arrest. The steps in the chain include activation of emergency medical services by calling 9-1-1, starting CPR, using an AED and acquiring appropriate care.

About the San José Fire Department
The San José Fire Department is committed to excellence in public safety. It embraces innovative approaches to meet the evolving needs of the diverse city of San José and works in partnership with the community to achieve a fire and hazard safe environment. The San José Fire Department consists of 650 authorized sworn personnel, 44 non-sworn uniformed Fire Communication Dispatchers, and 57 civilian personnel. It protects 206 square miles and approximately 1.2 million residents. Its mission is to serve the community by protecting life, property, and the environment through prevention and response. More information can be found at www.sjfd.org

About El Camino Hospital
El Camino Hospital is an acute-care, 542-bed, not-for-profit and locally governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, Calif. In addition to state-of-the-art emergency departments, key medical specialties include heart and vascular, cancer care, urology, orthopedic and spine, neuroscience, genomic medicine, and the only Women’s Hospital in Northern California. The hospital is recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology and wireless communications, and has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center as well as back-to-back ANCC Magnet Recognitions for Nursing Care. More information can be found at www.elcaminohospital.org.

About PulsePoint
PulsePoint is a non-profit foundation based in the San Francisco Bay Area whose goal is to make it much easier for citizens who are trained in CPR to use their life-saving skills to save lives. Through the use of modern, location-aware mobile devices, PulsePoint is building applications that work with local fire departments, EMS agencies and police departments to improve communications with citizens and empower them to help reduce the estimated 1 million worldwide annual deaths from sudden cardiac arrest. More information about PulsePoint can be found at www.pulsepoint.org.